CredAbility CEO to leave company before merger
The CEO of Atlanta credit counseling nonprofit CredAbility is leaving the organization, weeks after announcing it would merge with a Virginia nonprofit.
Phil Baldwin was to become the president of the combined company, which will be known as ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions. Instead, he will return to Arkansas, where he will become the CEO of Citizens Bank in Batesville there, a CredAbility spokesman said. He joined CredAbility in 2011 after 11 years as CEO of Arkansas’ Southern Bancorp.
Baldwin will exit Dec. 2. The merger will be completed at the end of the year.
The company’s headquarters will stay in Atlanta, spokesman Scott Scredon said. CredAbility’s board will meet this week to make a decision about replacing Baldwin.
Scredon said Baldwin’s decision to move back to Arkansas was “for family reasons.” In a statement, Baldwin said he was excited to “help lead a community bank that is seeking to grow.”
Citizens Bank has $530.5 million in assets at the end of June. Southern Bancorp, which Baldwin led previously, had $1.2 billion in assets at the end of June.
Baldwin said previously that the merger would allow the new ClearPoint more stability as the economy improves and fewer people seek credit counseling services.
About the Author
Arielle Kass covers Gwinnett County for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She started at the paper in 2010, and has covered business and local government beats around metro Atlanta. Arielle is a graduate of Emory University.
